Pocket Valentine

I don't make many Valentine cards (precisely one a year!) so I can take my time with it. I started with the idea of using fabric and let the craft muse (or chance) to lead me to the next idea.
This is the finished card, although I am still debating if I should stamp "Happy Valentine" in black ink at the bottom right. It would provide contrast but would it be too much?

Sorry for the quality of the photo but the winter light is just not enough!

 

To start the fabric idea I have used a Canvas Texture stamp in the background, but, instead of stamping direct to the card I kissed it with the Harlequin stamp from The Artistic Stamper. I chose it because it is solid so I can modify it with all sorts of techniques to give it a different look.
Also it is A6 in size, a major bonus for crafters on this side of the pond, because it can cover a standard card and also look good (ratio wise) on a 5x7 card.

Then I went to my scraps mountain box and pulled out the last piece of prepared fabric I had... yes it is a piece of shirt - you can tell I can't throw anything away!-, and when I saw the pocket I just had to use it!
I stamped the pocket with a heart stamp using fabric ink, it would work better on cotton but I am happy to go with the slightly blurry look the cotton mix gave.

I used the same stamp to create my embellishment with melted embossing powder. My first version was supposed to be red but turned out pink and, although quite nice, just clashed with the rest of the card. The stamp was versamarked before I poured the melted powder so that I could pick out the highlights with yellow/gold mica powder (Imagination Crafts - Natural set).

Of course, now I had a pocket, I needed to use it.... I created a tag and indulged myself playing with stamps.

For the left, I placed on my acrylic bloc several stamps from an old Docraft set and stamped in pink ink, over-stamping with a freebie stamp from Craft Stamper.

On the right, I used my latest Craft Stamper freebie and the Sending Happy thoughts row of hearts. This way I have managed to ink up 2 unused stamps! 

Finally I pulled a rather small scrap of red card to create a die-cut border.

I am entering the following challenges: Pan Pastels UK; The Artistic Stamper; My Mum's Craft shop; WOW Embossing Powders; Snazzy Design Team   

Thanks for coming by,